• Swiss subsidiary of Russian GazpromBank banned from accepting new clients after money laundering audit

    The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has uncovered serious inadequacies in the anti money laundering procedures of GazpromBank’s subsidiary company in Switzerland (GazpromBank (Switzerland) Ltd.) and has banned it from taking on new private clients.

    The decision was made earlier, following a two-day investigation prompted by the Panama Papers – material on the offshore accounts and companies of politicians and high-ranking officials from more than 50 countries.“The bank was …

  • Russia promises to escort all American reconnaissance planes flying near Crimea

    The Russian Ministry of Defense said that all US reconnaissance planes flying near to Crimea will be escorted by Russian fighters.

    This was Russia’s response to the United States’ accusation that there was a reckless interception of their EP-3 Aries II over the neutral waters on the border of annexed Crimea.

    “I would like to remind Commander Bill Ellis of the 67th tactical aviation group of the US 6th Fleet that Crimea is an integral part of Russia. By directing their pilots to carry out …

  • Mejlis: 248 Crimean Tatars were detained in the annexed Crimea over the past year

    The Russian security services in the annexed Crimea detained 248 Crimean Tatars in the last year, 99 were fined, and another 42 were arrested, said Eskender Bariev, a member of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, at a press conference on January 31st, according to Ukrainian News.

    Bariev noted that the representatives of the indigenous population of the Crimea are subjected to massive pressure from the law enforcement.

    Bariev said, "For 2017, our compatriots were fined more than 5 million rubles ($90,000 …

  • School atlases with 'Russian Crimea' withdrawn from lists of recommended textbooks in the Czech Republic

    Atlases containing controversial maps that showed “Russian Crimea” were approved for distribution in accordance with the internal documents of the Czech Ministry of Education in the summer of 2017. Later, the Ambassador of Ukraine protested the incorrect marking of the peninsula.

    The Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic stated that the school atlas in which the Crimea was marked as Russian territory is now out of circulation in the country.

    "The Ministry of Education studied the …

  • Russia classifies military and special services procurement

    Going forward, the Russian Ministry of Defense and Special Services will conduct purchases through classified means, the newspaper Kommersant, citing clarifying comments by the Russian Ministry of Finance, Federal Treasury and Federal Antimonopoly Service.

    According to these clarifications, the Federal Security Service (FSB), Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS), and Ministry of Defense, as well as all organizations subordinate to these structures, may only conduct procurement that is intended …